The Mad Miss Manton

(dtedfontenot@worldnet.att.net) wrote on IMDB:

This movie, a warmup for Stanwyck and Fonda for the later The Lady Eve, is entirely enjoyable. A lighthearted piece of fluff, true, but everybody is having such a good time that it becomes totally infectious. Stanwyck, a rich deb, while walking her dogs in the middle of night, stumbles over a murdered man who disappears when she summons the police, of course. Fonda, a news editor/reporter, castigates her in print, and she threatens to sue. They, in the time-honored tradition of Hollywood comedy/mysteries, jointly, and sometimes separately and at loggers head, try to solve the mystery and find the murderer. Stanwyck is aided by a cohort of fellow debutantes, who do things helter-skelter en masse. The scene when Stanwyck sics 'em on Fonda ("Get him, girls"), with Fonda crawfishing as they advance, alone is worth the price of admission, as is the final avowal of love and proposal of marriage.

Signe K. Skinion (jcsskin@egyptian.net) wrote on IMDB:

This is one pip of a movie, that is definitely funnier now in the age of political correctness. An obscure comedy that truly utilizes all the cast members involved in a great screwball of a movie. If you truly are a movie buff and love the classics, this is one movie you must find and watch for yourself. Some exceptionally classic lines that are true today as they were back in 1938.

David (Handlinghandel) wrote on IMDB:

I sI saw this on TV when I was young and, though it was trumpeted as hilarious, I didn't like it. Now, I have seen 30 or more movies of around the same period that combine romance, comedy, and mystery. And I have grown to appreciate Barbara Stanwyck as one of the great stars in Hollywood's history. So: I really enjoyed it a lot.

Stanwyck, as the title character, is mad only in the sense of madcap. Probably it is a matter of alliteration more than anything else. Henry Fonda is fun as the newspaper man who hates and then falls for her.

A few years later, they were to be teamed again in Preston Sturges's great "The Lady Eve."

The subway is a good gimmick, and all the minor players are fun. Miss Manton, or as we'd say today Ms. Manton, has a whole crew of gal-pals, who scream and giggle and make the whole affair very lively indeed.